The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
by StormyChef
Summary: Sometimes things don't always happen according to plan. AU-ish Senshi/Shitennou


_A/N: Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own these characters, I'm not making money off them. Please don't sue!_

_Thanks to Melinda Sandy Halliwell for the encouragement to get writing!_

_This was supposed to be a small drabble that was inspired by January's SM_Monthly Fanfiction Challenge Day 10 – "Plan". It turned into something much larger than a drabble. I've always been kinda wordy when I write. Anywho, I now give you my super-fluffy mushy ficcy thing. Hope you get the warm fuzzies!_

**The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry**.

The plan was simple. Take her out for a birthday dinner, go for a romantic walk in the park, then back to his place where their friends were to have scattered the petals of dozens of roses and lit many candles creating the perfect setting for him to ask her to take his hand in marriage. It seemed however, that the cards were not in his favor this evening.

The restaurant he'd chosen had managed to lose their reservation, and therefore did not have a table for them. He was livid. Many a swear fell from his lips as he gave both the maître d' and the restaurant manager a piece of his mind. Regardless, there was nothing they could do to rectify the situation to his satisfaction this evening.

He continued to fume outside the restaurant, and she couldn't help but giggle. He always was the type to overreact. She cupped his face with her hands and gave him the smallest and sweetest of kisses. Her green eyes looked up at him in earnest, a soft smile upon her lips. "It's ok, really. We'll go somewhere else and everything will be fine." Her smile was infectious and immediately melted his heart, his anger fading away. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they left to find another restaurant.

Unfortunately, it was a Friday night, and there were no similar places in this district that they would be able to get into without waiting for at least an hour. As they turned away from yet another overbooked restaurant, his stomach growled. She took note of this, grabbed his hand and pulled him along to the nearest place that served food.

Heads turned as they walked into McDonald's. Overdressed was an understatement. He was in a suit and tie; she was wearing a pink tea-length dress that softly flowed around her as she moved. They ordered their meals and moved to sit at the nearest booth. She giggled again as he tore into his Big Mac like a kid with a Happy Meal.

With stomachs full, they headed out to the park. What would have been a romantic stroll turned into a mad dash for shelter as the skies suddenly opened up and rain poured down upon them. They finally reached a small gazebo which provided a temporary respite from the rain. He was completely soaked, his long brown hair flattened against his head. Once again he found himself angry, completely annoyed at how horribly wrong this evening was going, until he turned around and saw the most angelic vision dancing before him.

She loved the rain, and while he hid from it under the shelter of the gazebo, she took the time to dance around in it. She held out her arms and tilted her face up to the sky soaking up the cool drops and twirling around and around until she was thoroughly dizzied. Makoto looked back at him and smiled one of her biggest, most genuine smiles as she made her way up the steps of the gazebo. Her soaked dress clung to every curve on her body like second skin and it took every ounce of strength in his body to not snatch her up and take her right then and there. She saw the glint of mischief in his eyes and gave him a coy smile. Before either of them could move an inch closer to each other, the rain ended as quickly as it had started. Both gave a small frown, but laughed it off. He spoke first. "Let's head back to my place and get dried off." She nodded and off they went.

Inside Nathaniel's apartment, four bodies were scurrying around trying to make preparations for what they titled the "Big Finale". And four pairs of eyes looked towards the door in shock as they heard two distinct voices drawing closer. "Shit! They're early!" the blonde whispered as she took off to find a hiding place. They scattered throughout the apartment, two into the bathroom and behind the shower curtain, one under the bed, and the last in a closet. The key turned in the lock and the door opened.

Makoto was speechless. Candles and roses were everywhere, soft music playing on the stereo. She turned to look at her boyfriend who had just closed the door behind them. She laughed as he stood there, still completely drenched, but with the goofiest of smiles upon his face. "Nate, honey, what is all this? Did you do this?" He smiled, "This is part of your birthday present…" She shivered slightly, and his smile faded. "Let me get us some towels so we can dry off and I can give you the rest of your present." She cocked an eyebrow, a smirk upon her lips. "That sounds like a good idea. Do you mind if I borrow some sweats or something? I need to get out of this wet dress…"

She went to his bedroom and unzipped the back of her dress. She wiggled out of the soaked fabric that had been clinging her body and let it hit the floor, leaving her in only a bra and thong. While she dug through the drawer of his dresser, two blue eyes peered out from under the bed and promptly slammed shut. /_Oh god, I did not need to see my best friend's girl like that! He's going to kill me…_/ As she pulled a pair of black sweats out of the drawer, a small unnoticed box fell out and onto the floor before rolling under the bed.

Meanwhile, Nate had gone to the linen closet to grab towels. He nearly shat himself when he opened the door to find a usually stoic Kevin cringing up at him from the floor of the closet. He whispered "Look man, I'm sorry… you guys were too early!" Nate rolled his eyes as he grabbed two large towels and slammed the closet door. /_Could this evening get any worse?_/

He called out to the bedroom, "Babe, are you alright in there? Did you find something to wear?" She responded by walking through the doorway wearing a pair of baggy sweats and a tank top and carrying a very wet dress. "Yes I did, thanks." He handed her a towel and she passed him the dress for a brief moment while she wrapped her hair up. She reached to take the dress back and said, "I'm going to go wring this out and hang it up to dry. Why don't you go get changed and dry off and I'll make us some hot cocoa?" He nodded, "That sounds fantastic." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and headed for the bathroom.

Makoto stood in front of the mirror for a few moments toweling her hair dry. She attempted to straighten it out into something more attractive than a frizzy mop, but when she looked down and saw that what she was wearing wasn't exactly attractive either, she decided to just let it go. After hanging the towel on the hook, she held up her dress to wring it out over the sink. When water splashed onto the sink rather than into it, she decided it would be best to do this over the bathtub. She flung open the shower curtain to find two of her sisters standing in the bathtub staring back at her. All three were equally startled and let out a surprised screech.

Nate was freaking out. He couldn't find the ring box anywhere. He checked every drawer, every nook, cranny, hole, everywhere! "Where is the damned thing!" he whispered aloud as he plopped down onto the edge of the bed in a pair of wet boxers. /_This night is officially ruined/_ he thought to himself as he rested his elbows on his knees and let his head fall into his hands, staring down at the floor. He was on the verge of tears when he noticed something moving by his feet. Slowly, an arm stretched out from under the bed and when it stopped between Nate's feet the hand opened to reveal a small black box. He jumped off the bed and knelt down to the floor to look under the bed and was met with the shadowed face of his best friend Jason. He grabbed the box from his friend's hand and whispered "Man, you are a life saver. I owe you big time." Jason stifled a laugh and replied "No worries man. After what I just saw, I still owe _you_." Nate's eyebrow rose quizzically, but he quickly remembered he had something more important to do and started to get up from the floor when he heard a scream.

Jason hit his head on the bottom of the bed as he scrambled to get out from under it. Both he and Nate took off in a dash for the bathroom and both promptly came crashing to the floor as Kevin stumbled out of the closet he'd been hiding in. Nate swore as he lost his grip on the small box and watched it roll just out of arm's reach.

Three girls came rushing out of the bathroom to find out what the commotion in the hallway was. They couldn't help but burst into laughter at what they found. Three men, one only wearing a pair of boxers, tangled up in the worst of ways, and all of them sheepishly looking up at their women who were now laughing at their horrible misfortune. Makoto finally managed to quell her giggles long enough to speak first. "Could someone please tell me what in the world is going on here?" Five sets of eyes looked back and forth at each other, then back to Mako. Nobody spoke. As she glanced down to Nate she noticed a small black object from the corner of her eye. Nate cringed as she bent down to pick it up. "Mako, wait."

He managed to untangle himself from his two friends and jumped up to grab the box from Makoto's hands. She raised her eyebrow at him and the color drained from his face, his hands beginning to shake. She reached out and placed a hand on his cheek, a questioning look in her eyes. "Honey, are you OK?" His voice slightly cracked as he began to speak. "Th...this…this isn't what I'd planned at all…" She furrowed her brows, looking back and forth between his face, his hands which currently held the small box, and her friends who all seemed to be frozen in place. "Nate, honey, what's going on?"

Before he could answer, Rei spoke up. "I really think we should be going now…" and she took a step forward to help Jason off the floor. Minako nodded in agreement and did the same for Kevin. Makoto was still incredibly confused. "Wait, where are you guys going?"

Nate looked down at the box in his hand and made up his mind. "She's right. You should be here for this." Makoto looked to her friends again before looking back at Nate. "Be here for what?"

Still standing in nothing but his boxer shorts, he took Makoto's hand in his own and spoke. "I wanted to make your birthday one that you'd never forget. So far, nothing has gone the way I'd planned. Before anything else goes wrong, I need to ask you a question." Her eyes narrowed, wondering what in the world he'd ever be so nervous about asking her. As he lowered himself down to one knee, her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. She quickly looked to her friends who were smiling back at her, then back down to Nate, where she stayed focused.

He decided to throw his speech out the window along with all his other plans from the evening and got straight to the point. "I love you much more than I can ever put into words. But if you'll let me, I'd like to show you, even if it takes the rest of my life. Kino Makoto, will you marry me?" He held up the box and opened it revealing a rather modest diamond ring flanked by a few small emeralds. His entire world hinged on what her reply would be, and he held his breath as he waited.

She stared at him, completely awestruck at what had just happened. Tears began to well up in her eyes and her hands began to shake. Her knees grew week and she dropped down to the floor in front of him. Before he could shift his weight to move closer to her, she'd tackled him flat to the ground planting kisses all over his face. One word rang out between each kiss. "Yes!"

As their friends applauded at the happy scene, Nate managed to move Makoto off him long enough to slide the ring onto her finger, which caused an even louder ruckus from the group. Whistles and cheers filled the apartment as the now engaged couple shared another kiss.

For once tonight, at least something had gone according to plan.


End file.
